Day 8: 2:00am-3:00am
| code = 8AFF11 | author = Evan Katz & David Fury| director = Nelson McCormick}} Racing against the clock, Jack Bauer tries to persuade Marcos Al-Zacar to turn himself in before he can arm an explosive vest. Dana Walsh and Cole Ortiz arrive back at CTU New York, only to be reprimanded, and, in Dana's case, demoted, by Brian Hastings. In the midst of planning to start a new life with Tarin, Kayla Hassan receives some disturbing news from her mother. Episode guide * debates with Cole Ortiz over what to do with the bodies. Cole tells her to calm down and they'll get through it. * realizes his daughter has run away with Tarin Faroush and enlists his wife to find her. * gets impatient waiting for CTU New York to arrive and attempts to run away from an armed gunman, only to get himself shot. * fights to keep Farhad alive and, when he fails, orchestrates a plan to lure one of his operatives into the open. *At St. Julian's Hospital, Jack confronts Marcos Al-Zacar, who escapes through a window and into a hyperbaric chamber. Inside the hyberbaric chamber, Marcos Al-Zacar works on rewiring the detonator for his explosive vest, referring to a schematic he drew on the wall. As he works, a single green LED lights up on the vest's breastplate. Outside, Agent King briefs Jack Bauer on the chamber itself: one-inch-thick steel, hermetically sealed with an oxygen-enriched atmosphere inside, meaning that any attempt to blow open the door or any stray sparks may ignite a fire. King says that they may be able to break through using a slow-rotating drill, but it will take as long as forty minutes. Agent Owen reports that the techs managed to reactivate the internal cameras, and shows him the schematic that Al-Zacar is working on. According to the bomb techs, the terrorist will need to rewire four circuits before he can manually set off the vest without using the remote detonator, and the light indicates he has already completed one. Owen claims that the explosion will not cause any damage outside the chamber, but Jack realizes that that isn't Marcos's goal; he simply needs to prevent CTU from taking him alive. He orders Owen to get the intercom up and running, then asks the CTU operator to speak to Brian Hastings. Arlo Glass and Chloe O'Brian enter the conference room with Hastings, while Jack brings them up to speed on the situation. Chloe briefs Jack on what she could find on the suspect from the IRK intelligence files: Marcos Al-Zacar, born in East Harlem to Elaine Al-Zacar, an American mother, and Marcos Al-Zacar, Sr., a Kamistani father. Al-Zacar's father was a professor critical of American foreign policy who was suspected of having extremist ties and ultimately arrested for four months during President Wayne Palmer's administration; after being released, he was unhirable and eventually committed suicide. Arlo reports that Al-Zacar's mother is still living in Harlem at 4211 East 117th Street, and Jack tells Hastings that they need to bring her in. Hastings tells the team that the terrorists will most likely plan to use the radiological bomb against a high-value target on Manhattan, and the best chance of catching them is detecting the rods with the radiation detectors set up at all the major bridges and tunnels. He tells Arlo to supplement these sensors with the drones' equipment, just as he sees Cole Ortiz and Dana Walsh enter the elevator on the security monitor. On their way down to the main floor, Cole reminds her that she just needs to act natural and keep her head. She can't believe that he's able to stay this calm after what has happened, and asks him to show some sort of reaction: tell her he hates her, or he can never forgive her. Angrily, he tells her they can't do this now, as long as a radiological threat exists. Then, calmer, he says that he wouldn't have done what he did if he didn't still love her. As they exit the elevator, Hastings is waiting for them, saying that they have "holy hell to answer for." He chastises Cole for failing to call in while following up his lead - Cole replies that the witness didn't pan out, and admits he made a mistake - then remarks that Dana was supposedly fixing a faulty relay, yet still found time to change her clothes. Seeing through their excuses, Hastings says that he doesn't know where they really were and doesn't care, but assures them that they would both be out "on their asses" if they weren't the best at what they do. He informs Dana that she will answer to Chloe O'Brian until further notice, then orders Cole to lead the team to bring in Elaine Al-Zacar. Whether they salvage their careers depends on their performance from this point onward. Cole leaves to prep the team, while Dana retrieves her control for the central monitor and hands it to Chloe, who looks satisfied to be back in control. From the road, Samir calls Ali, who has set up with a small team outside St. Julian's Hospital to survey the hyperbaric chamber and monitor Marcos's progress. Ali asks if CTU's radiation sensors have been taken down; not yet, Samir says, but they will be ready to transport the rods into Manhattan when the moment comes. At a secure warehouse, Samir exits his vehicle and watches as the rods are removed from their container. Dana Walsh reports that there have been no hits on the radiation sensors at the Holland, Midtown, or Lincoln Tunnels. Chloe says that she can't access the reports from the George Washington, Brooklyn, or Queensboro Bridges, but Dana explains that the MTA is providing that stream on a designated sublink to prevent server overload. Chloe retorts that she couldn't have known that since Dana didn't mention it in her hourlies. She goes over to Dana's station, and says she knows it must be hard that Dana has to report to her now. Dana replies that she deserved the demotion, which Chloe agrees with; however, Chloe says she's glad that Dana hasn't lost her job, and encourages her to "hang in there." Dana checks on aerial surveillance with Arlo Glass; he confirms that the drones should pick up the rods if the terrorists try to bring them onto the island by boat. He tries to apologize to her for telling Cole about her meeting with Kevin, and says that he thought it was important to get her back on task with the ongoing crisis. He asks if Kevin is gone, and whether she's still okay with the "Boy Scout." Arlo is glad to hear that she and Cole are still together, but again reminds her that he's available if she ever changes her mind. Marcos continues to work on rewiring his vest, while Jack Bauer and, from outside, Ali monitor the pressure chamber. Agent Owen tells Jack that the techs managed to get the intercom working again. Jack thanks him, then orders him to apprise CTU that he is going in to talk to Marcos. Over the intercom, Jack introduces himself properly to Al-Zacar, and reveals that he knows about the plan to set off a dirty bomb in New York City. He knows that the original plan was to smuggle the rods back to the IRK, and guesses that an attack that will kill tens of thousands isn't what he signed on for. Jack tries to convince him that allowing the attack to go forward will destroy his country by forcing President Taylor to retaliate, and that's not something he wants. Marcos replies that what he wants doesn't matter. He and others in the IRK aren't willing to stand by while President Hassan signs away their independence in a so-called "peace treaty." Marcos rails against the arrogance of the United States in trying to dictate which countries can possess nuclear weapons while keeping "his people" in the Dark Ages, but Jack responds that he knows Marcos was born and raised in America, by an American mother. Jack acknowledges that what happened to his deceased father was a tragedy and an outrage, but his current course will do nothing but dishonor his memory, and all he has to do make it right is open the door. Marcos claims he is done talking and goes back to working on the detonator. After a moment, a second light appears on his vest. At the Teodore Hotel, laying in bed next to Kayla, Tarin Faroush ends a call with a friend at the State Department, then tells Kayla that the two of them can be considered political refugees due to the crackdown her father initiated in the IRK. However, they may not be granted asylum for as many as eighteen months, although they will be protected once they file the appropriate papers. Tarin warns that until asylum is granted, he may not be able to give her the lifestyle she is used to, but she promises that it doesn't matter to her, then kisses him. Just then, she gets a call from her mother, and tries to answer it, but Tarin light-heartedly takes the phone from her, saying she can call her once his lawyer has filed the application. Dalia leaves a message that Kayla may not be safe in New York and begs her to call her as soon as possible, then enters the elevator where President Hassan is waiting. She confronts Omar for recklessly arresting Tarin and others closest to him, scoffing that he could have collected such damning evidence against them in such a short time, and remarking that if he continues he will finish the job that Farhad started of destroying his government. Inside the suite, Dalia goes to the window and looks out on the city. Omar tries to apologize, but she lashes out at him, saying that his suspicion and paranoia drove their daughter away and put her right in the middle of a possible terrorist attack. He admits that she is right: he lost his way, and he promises to do everything in his power to find her. The two embrace. Elaine Al-Zacar finishes packing, just as she hears a forceful knock on the door. Cole Ortiz announces himself and demands that she open the door, warning her that he will break it down if she does not. Agents rush the apartment and conduct a search, while Cole asks her to tell him everything she knows about her son Marcos and his activities related to the IRK. He notices her suitcase, and demands for an explanation, then sarcastically asks if she routinely visits relatives at 2:30 in the morning. Elaine explains that Marcos called her an hour ago and told her she needed to leave for her sister Shelley's house in Pennsylvania. She is speechless when Cole tells her that Marcos has barricaded himself at St. Julian's Hospital with an explosive vest; once she recovers, Cole helps her to her feet and takes her out of the apartment. Dana Walsh enters Brian Hastings' office to report that Cole and Mrs. Al-Zacar are ten minutes from the hospital. She then attempts to apologize again for leaving her post, saying that she let him down. He agrees, and reminds her that he hired her not only for her "considerable" skill, but for other attributes as well: an ability to adapt, a drive to be better. He admits that he doesn't want to lose her or Cole, but both of them are ultimately replaceable in the long run. She promises that both she and Cole are willing to accept the consequences of their actions, then excuses herself to answer a call on her cell phone. On the other end, a stranger with a thick Southern accent apologizes for the late hour, then asks who he is speaking with. Once Dana tells him, the man introduces himself as Bill Prady with the Department of Corrections in Little Rock, Arkansas, and explains that he is looking for one of his parolees, Kevin Wade. When she denies knowing anyone by that name, he explains that he got her number from a motel room in Queens, where Kevin apparently called her several times and spoke to her for a few minutes on each occasion. Dana tries to put him off by explaining that she works at CTU and is currently dealing with a serious crisis; he understands, but says that since they're both awake, he would appreciate if she would be willing to meet with him in person before he has to fly back to Little Rock in the morning. He explains that he's grown "rather fond" of Kevin, and the longer it takes to find him, the more likely it is that he will have to go back to prison. Prady offers to call her supervisor to help smooth things over and arrange a meeting, but Dana quickly assures him there's no need, and agrees to give him her address. At the hospital, Marcos manages to reconfigure the third circuit on his vest, while outside, field agents begin working on the door with the slow-moving drill. Agent Owen tells Jack Bauer that the fourth circuit will only take ten minutes or less to rewire, and both realize that the drill will not break through soon enough to stop him. Cole brings Elaine Al-Zacar into the waiting area, and joins Jack to tell him about how Marcos tried to get her to leave town earlier. Obviously, he cares enough about her to try to save her life. Jack goes over to Mrs. Al-Zacar, who begs that he let her speak to her son. He says that he needs for her to sit and calm down, so that he can explain exactly what is going on. Meanwhile, Cole gets a call from Dana about the probation officer who just called her. Prady caught her in a lie about Kevin, and is now coming over to meet with her face-to-face. He says that he can't deal with it right now, and tells her that she needs to handle him herself. She worries that she won't be able to, but he says that telling another lie shouldn't trouble her, as they both know how good she is at it. After a beat, Cole apologizes, then hangs up, telling her to let him know what happens. Jack finishes explaining to Elaine that her son has been working undercover for the IRK since her husband died, and now has become party to a radiological attack in Manhattan. He explains that she needs to talk to him and say whatever it takes to get him to open the door and give himself up peacefully, and promises that he will do everything he can to help the two of them through it if he does. Jack brings Elaine into the pressure chamber room, while from his secure vantage point, Ali reports to Samir that it is definitely Marcos's mother. At the landing site with the rods, Samir remembers that Ali was the one who initially recruited Marcos, and asks if he thinks Marcos will break. Ali says that he doesn't think so. Elaine speaks to her son over the intercom, trying to convince him to stop what he's doing. Marcos yells at Jack to get his mother away from the chamber and leave her alone, but he has already left the room. Crying, Elaine asks him how he can be involved in an attack that could possibly kill thousands of people. "You ask me that," he says, "after what this country did to Dad?" She explains that his father was a complicated man, particularly when it came to politics, but she knows for a fact that he would never condone violence against innocents; nor did he "hate America," as Marcos claims, because he came to America, married an American woman, and raised an American son. At CTU, Chloe notices a degradation in the hospital's security feed, indicating that somebody is remotely tapping into the feed. She begins to run a trace to figure out where the intrusion is coming from. Elaine expresses sorrow that she didn't do more to reach out to her son, to help him deal with his grief and anger. He replies that it's not her fault; she couldn't have been a better mother. Jack remarks that she's almost managed to get through to him, then learns about the intrusion from Chloe. He orders Owen to disrupt the video feed, which should take about thirty seconds. Mrs. Al-Zacar begs her son to turn himself in, saying that he is all she has left and promising that she will help him every step of the way, but he insists that it's too late for him now. He simply says that she needs to be strong and that he loves her, then turns away from the intercom. Elaine starts screaming in despair, leading Cole to forcibly drag her away from the chamber, while Jack strides back in with a grim look on his face. Meanwhile, Ali's video feed goes dark; he tells Samir that he saw one of the agents go back into the room before the video went down. Marcos manages to reconfigure the last circuit on his vest, just as Jack tells him: "You detonate that vest, your mother dies too." He promises to make sure that she is in Manhattan when the dirty bomb goes off, and he will personally escort her to the blast site so she's exposed to the worst of the radiation. Marcos doubts that Jack, a federal agent, would do any such thing, but Jack lays out the facts: Weakly, Marcos denies that Jack would dare hurt his mother, but Jack makes an ultimatum. He yells at Marcos to look at him in the eyes, and promises that whatever happens to his mother will be his own fault. Sobbing, Marcos asks him to promise that if he comes out, he'll leave his mother alone; Jack gives him his word. Groaning, Marcos sets the detonator down and moves towards the door. Jack readies his weapon, while Marcos removes the table leg and opens the hatch, then kneels down in front of Jack with his hands behind his head. Jack yells to Cole that all four lights are on, and Cole orders bomb techs into the room to disarm it. Ali reports to Samir that Marcos is out of the chamber, but the vest is now ready to detonate; Samir orders him to hang up immediately and transmit the fail-safe, while he and his men pack up the fuel rods and prepare to move out. In the midst of trying to defuse the bomb, Jack notices a timer appear on the vest's breastplate, counting down from sixty. He warns Cole to get the team away from the chamber, while Marcos starts to panic, and yells out to his mother across the hallway. Working furiously, his hands shaking, Jack asks Marcos to tell him what he knows in case he is unsuccessful, and elicits from him the name of one of his associates: Tarin Faroush, President Hassan's head of security. With only ten counts left, Jack tells Marcos with a look of anguish that he won't be able to stop the detonation. Marcos tells him to apologize to his mother for him, then turns and runs back inside the chamber, while Jack slams the door behind him. The blast hurls Jack across the room and leaves him gasping for breath. Looking up at the ajar hatch, now coated with blood, Jack confirms to CTU that he is okay and asks to speak to President Hassan, then groans with pain. '' Over the phone, President Hassan asks an NYPD commissioner to do what he can to have Kayla's picture circulated. As he hangs up, Nabeel enters with a priority call from CTU. Jack Bauer introduces himself to the President and tells him about the lead he obtained from the suicide bomber at the hospital: Tarin Faroush is a co-conspirator in the nuclear attack. Stunned, Hassan explains that Tarin escaped from custody and seems to have run off with his own daughter, whom he has been unable to contact. Jack says that they need to continue trying, as Faroush is now their only lead. At the hotel, Tarin gets in the shower, just as Kayla answers a call from her mother, Dalia. Omar tells Jack that they have Kayla on the phone, and he replies that he needs an address. Kayla apologizes for ignoring her mother's calls, saying that she knows her father probably put her up to it. Dalia explains to her that she is in danger, and that Tarin is working with her father's enemies. She is initially doubtful, saying that it is just another of Omar's paranoid delusions, but Dalia says that this information comes from CTU, and reminds her that she more than anyone has loathed his behavior over the last few hours; she wouldn't be telling her this unless she believed it too. Although initially doubtful, Kayla eventually reveals that she is staying in the Teodore in Suite 514, which Omar passes along to Jack and CTU, just as Tarin comes out of the shower. Hearing the end of her conversation, Tarin asks if Kayla told her mother where they are; she replies that she didn't, as she wouldn't be stupid enough to endanger their plans. He tells her to get dressed: his friend with the State Department has made arrangements for them to formally request asylum. She tries to stall by kissing him and asking to spend some more time together, but he turns her down. Finally, she agrees to get dressed, lying that she wants to do so in the bathroom so she can wash up first. Split screen: Kayla enters the bathroom and locks the door, while Tarin stares after her, growing suspicious. President Hassan briefs his security team on Tarin's location, while Dalia paces by the window. Brian Hastings, Chloe O'Brian, and Dana Walsh work at their stations, while Bill Prady continues toward CTU. Samir moves out from the landing site with the rods. Outside the hospital, Cole tells Jack he can have a team at the Teodore in twenty minutes, but Jack says NYPD can get there first, and tells the sergeant to order his men to set up a perimeter around the building. He and Cole get in a CTU car and head out. '' Episode credits Starring *Kiefer Sutherland as Jack Bauer *Mary Lynn Rajskub as Chloe O'Brian *Anil Kapoor as President Omar Hassan *Mykelti Williamson as Brian Hastings *Katee Sackhoff as Dana Walsh *John Boyd as Arlo Glass *and Freddie Prinze Jr. as Cole Ortiz Guest starring *Stephen Root as Bill Prady *Nazneen Contractor as Kayla Hassan *Mido Hamada as Samir Mehran *Julian Morris as Agent Owen *Necar Zadegan as Dalia Hassan *T.J. Ramini as Tarin Faroush *Rami Malek as Marcos Al-Zacar *Ethan Rains as Ali *Matt Yang King as Agent King *Hrach Titizian as Nabeel *and Mare Winningham as Elaine Al-Zacar Uncredited * Christopher Leps as Jack Bauer (stunt double) * Sterling Sulieman as Jim Production staff Memorable quotes * Marcos Al-Zacar: (his final words) You tell my mother I'm sorry. * Chloe O'Brian: I know this must be hard for you having to report to me since you've been demoted. * Dana Walsh: It's okay, Chloe. I deserved it. * Chloe O'Brian: Yeah, you did. Background information and notes * This episode's third act clocks in at sixteen minutes long. To compensate, the other acts are only between six and seven minutes long. * Continuity error: When the bomb strapped to Marcos explodes, there is no visible blood on the door of the hyberbaric chamber. However, when the door is seen moments later, blood is clearly visible. See also * 2:00am-3:00am (disambiguation) Day 811 811